Going GREEN!

First of all, you should know that this has absolutely nothing to do with the economy.

Second, if you thought my blog was about the ecosystem, you will have to look elsewhere.

This is just my rant about Ted Dekker's upcoming novel Green, Book Zero in Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy (Black, Red and White--all rated five stars on my list). This series is like nothing I have ever read before, with allegory similar to C. S. Lewis's Narnian world, and yet taking the story of death and life, love and sacrifice, to a higher level. Find out more at the official website, which contains information on this book and the others in the trilogy, as well as sample chapters and a commentary from the NY Times best-selling author himself.


If you would like to receive exclusive offers on Green and Dekker's other books, go to http://teddekker.com/readgreen. Just fill out the form completely and enter my Forest Guard number as 4487.

Mold, wall texturing, audiobooks and Christian films

OK, back after a while, but I've been CRAZILY busy. My dad bought a house along with another guy to fix up and resell. We had to scrub mold off the walls from water damage, a man in my church helped us plaster and texture the walls, and now tomorrow I'll be doing lots of painting . . . and listening to audiobooks (either Tuck by Stephen Lawhead, which I started a while back but got sidetracked on other books, or Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz).

On a side note, here are three of my newest movie favorites:

• Fireproof

• Come What May

• Pendragon: Sword of His Father (A newer trailer is now on the website, but it doesn't have an embedding code.)
  
  
  

"Fireproof" was amazing and I loved it, except for some of the music that doesn't meet my personal standards. "Come What May" and "Pendragon" were both made by homeschooling families! "Pendragon" is probably my favorite one because of all the action, though some parents may want to preview it before showing it to very young children; the battle scenes are intense, but not bloody. Here's something interesting I learned today: the beautiful score was composed by the talented brother-sister duo, Aaron Burns (Artos) and Marilyn Burns (Wenneveria). Another good Christian film I have not yet seen is "The Widow's Might."

Three Christian spec titles to be released tomorrow

Only hours remain until the second round of spec fic from Marcher Lord Press. I discovered MLP about a year ago while browsing through Christian writing group sites and have been amazed at the rapid spread it has made. Although I have to save money for college and can't buy each book right away, I have determined to make sure my public library gets all of them; and then one day, when I am an incredibly-wealthy best-selling author (or even if that doesn't happen . . . lol), every book ever published by MLP will grace my personal library shelves.

The only bad thing about reading new books through the library is that the staff spends an awfully long time recording the book's information in the computer, attaching the stickers, etc., etc. -- the book's "status" is listed as "On Order" and "Newly Acquired," each of which take forever, and then it finally gets placed on the hold shelf. For example, I asked for the audiobook of Tuck by Stephen Lawhead (if you haven't noticed yet, I thrive on audiobooks) a few weeks before it came out at the beginning of February. The library ordered it, but today it is still "Newly Acquired." Yeah, pretty bad. I'm finally reading Hero, Second Class (from the MLP October launch) after a similar delay. But, on a happier note, it's an awesome book . . . congratulations to Mitchell Bonds!

Anyway, back to Marcher Lord Press. The three books will be hitting the public tomorrow, April 1st -- Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton (see the banner on the left), By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson, and The Dark Man by Marc Schooley. Though I have usually preferred fantasy over science fiction, Starfire especially has sucked me in. I don't know why . . . there is just something strangely appealing in a non-human world in which there is still one true God. (And Rathe is such a cool name for a dinosaur.) If you haven't already entered Stuart Stockton's contest, be sure to take advantage of it before midnight. This book is going to be AWESOME!

New Shurtugal.com layout...pretty awesome!

Shurtugal.com has gone through several changes in the past year, and now webmaster Mike Macauley has developed another new layout for the Inheritance Cycle fansite. I think this layout is a big improvement, with the deep richness of the colors and the easy-to-find arrangement of the page links. One of the best additions is the RSS feed from the Inheritance Forums which shows the the most recent discussions related to Brisingr and "Book 4." (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you will have to read some of my earlier posts.) New wallpapers and icons have been added, as well as an in-depth look at what we know about the events in Book 4 and what could happen to Eragon, his friends and his enemies. Another of my favorites is the archived interviews with Christopher Paolini.

"Dawn Treader" officially a Fox Walden franchise...and what about another "Inheritance" movie?

NarniaWeb has officially announced the union of Fox and Walden in the production of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," the third adaptation of C. S. Lewis's books to modern film. Once the budget and script are decided on, filming will begin hopefully at the end of summer to allow a theater release late in 2010 . . . later than what was hoped for, but I'm just glad the movie is still being made. This book is the most popular of the series, as opposed to a lower fanbase with Prince Caspian. And with a better release date than the previous movie and focus on a family film, a larger following is expected in this production.

Also on my update list is a new much-waited-for post on Shurtugal.com. Webmaster Mike Macauley gave his thoughts on the "Eragon" movie failure and what could possibly be done to improve the altered plotline in a second movie. (Just realize that a second movie is not in the works at this time with 20th Century Fox.) I definitely anticipate "Part 2" where he will describe his version of "Murtagh: The Movie." My favorite character EVER...yay! I wonder if his script is in alignment with mine. ;)

"Hobbit" news

Since I am obviously a big-time fantasy fan, it would be only right to be a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. I have read the books and seen the movies countless times, but I always return back to the story Tolkien wrote primarily for his children: The Hobbit. You can imagine how excited I was when I heard several months ago about a new "Hobbit" movie. An update from Guillermo del Toro, the renowned director of "Pan's Labyrinth" and now "The Hobbit," arrived a couple days ago at my favorite Tolkien website, TheOneRing.net, so I thought I'd post a link to the main article on MTV.

Weta has been closely involved in the pre-production along with producer Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens. Andy Serkis will return as Gollum, and Ian McKellen will reprise his role as the wizard Gandalf. The news I especially can't wait to hear is who will be Bilbo Baggins; del Toro says in the article he has four actors especially in mind, but he has not spoken to them as they are not yet confirmed.

Volunteering

Yesterday I attended an all-day volunteer training program at the Praying Hands Ranch with a couple from my church. It was an absolutely amazing experience! I've been horse-crazy all my life (encouraged especially by my dad, who grew up on a Wisconsin animal park populated with 40 horses and all different kinds of North American animals), so the fact that horses were involved was definitely a big plus for me. The PHR staff and volunteers work alongside people with special needs to strengthen their physical and/or mental health using horses, small animals, and horticulture. They are beginning a program for youth at risk and also plan to help disabled veterans in the near future.

The DVD testimonials of parents whose children were aided was a real blessing. Many lives are being changed through this ministry. PHR is a Christian organization -- a Ten Commandments plaque hangs on the wall near the front door, and the friendly atmosphere and spirit of the place radiates true genuineness. I know that I will enjoy working with the horses, but the real purpose of Praying Hands Ranch is to be a mark in the community that can transform the seemingly hopeless futures of many.